Thursday, October 7, 2010

The Mosaic of Autumn

"Winter is an etching,
Spring a watercolor,
Summer an oil painting,
And autumn a mosaic of them all."
Stanley Horowitz

I don't remember ever seeing the 1950 movie, "Sunset Boulevard" on late night television or a movie channel. But I do remember hearing Gloria Swanson's famous line from that movie: "All right, Mr. De Mille, I'm ready for my closeup."

A lone monarch butterfly last week gave me that opportunity for the close-up I'd been craving. Before that, I'd seen plenty of monarch butterflies fluttering in the treetops as I walked. But they were never close enough for a "beauty" shot.

Since I can never hope to actually paint a portrait of this royal visitor, I used the computer to manipulate the photo to look a little like a painting, to better illustrate the Stanley Horowitz quote.

The sights of autumn color our world and remind us of the beauty of God's creation. We just need to pause long enough to recognize it.

We find it in the colors of a beautiful straggler, left behind as his fellow travelers depart for the mountains of Mexico ...

We find in it the fruit still undiscovered by hungry birds, the brilliance of the red offset by the crisp blue of a fall morning ...


We find it when we glimpse the first red leaf of the season in a front yard tree. It's hidden away in the sea of green that still dominates the foliage, just teasing us with the promise of the "fire" of red to come ...

It's evident in the milo stalks set against the blue, cloud-dotted sky ...

It's found along the ditches of a country road, where a few wildflowers still peek among the grasses of summer now turned brown.



In the hustle and bustle of planting and harvesting here on the County Line, I was once again given a gentle reminder through a Message from God on my friend's Facebook page:

"God wants you to know that you will feel better if you notice the sweetness of life. Notice the smiles of children, the songs of the birds, the caress of the sun's warmth. This sweetness is for you. Allow it to soothe your soul and bring a smile to your face."

May your day be filled with the surprise of an unexpected visitor like my beautiful monarch and may the sights and sounds and colors and aromas of fall soothe your soul and bring a smile to your face, too.













2 comments:

  1. I love fall!! I love all the colors and the wonderful food and temperatures. It is my favorite season! So glad I stopped by here today!

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  2. I person doesn't have to look for beauty in nature--it just pops out at you!! How can anyone doubt that there is a GOD!!!

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